Aumont could use starting role to develop relief tools
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Aumont could use starting role to develop relief tools
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
First impressions of Phillippe Aumont? Even at 21 years old and wearing street clothes, you can picture him standing on on a pitching rubber and glaring toward home plate in the ninth inning of a close game and scaring a major league hitter out of his sliding pants. His measurables -- 6-foot-7, 220 pounds -- don't do him justice. He has a thick frame, a sturdy base, and baseball gloves for hands.
Jamie Moyer hasn't arrived in Clearwater yet, but you get the feeling that when he finally does, and Aumont shakes his hand and looks down at him and says, "Nice to meet you, sir," Moyer will look up toward the heavens with a frustrated look and ask God, "Why?"
Aumont doesn't look like a guy who is going to fool you with an array of off-speed stuff. He looks like a guy who was the 11th overall pick because of his ability to throw the ball by you, and that's exactly what he is. Aumont's fastball sits in the mid-90's and touches 97, and for that reason the Mariners used him as a reliever for the first two seasons of professional baseball. It is a role Aumont looks like he is built for, and there is a very good chance that if he ever cracks the Phillies' big league roster, it will be the role that he fills.
But the difference between an average hard-throwing major league reliever and a good hard-throwing major league reliever not named Mariano Rivera is a reliable second pitch. Which is why the Phillies' plan at the moment is to have Aumont start the year at Double-A Reading as a starter.
That might seem counterintuitive. With four starters under club control through at least 2012, the Phillies would seem to want to ready Aumont for potential bullpen action in 2011, when J.C. Romero could be a free agent, or 2012, when Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge and Danys Baez are all due to become free agents.
But the best way to get him ready just might be as a starter, where he will throw more pitches, have more regular sidework, and thereby have more opportunities to refine both his curveball and his change-up. Relievers don't have a set schedule, and are generally in the game for short periods of time, and when they are in the games are more concerned with preserving a lead than developing the tools they will need at the next level.
Aumont, who says the Phillies have not yet told him whether they will be using him as a starter or a reliever, acknowledged this yesterday when I talked to him. Here's the story from today's paper.
Did we not learn anything from the Myers and Kendrick experiments that starters and relievers are two very different animals and the bouncing back and forth really screws them up mentally and physically.— Trot- Well Hes not Cliff Lee!— xcyrsist
- xcyrsist Well Hes not Cliff Lee!.......True, but under the team's control for next five years for about $100,000,000 less!!!— stan the man too
- And one world series less.— Pheagles
- Why take a super talented top draft pick and make him a reliever at the age of 22? Why? Use the kid's talent to make him a #2 starter. PLEASE!— maximusud
- Trot, maximusud - mensa meeting end early? did you actually read the article? reading comprehension a foreign talent for you? second to last paragraph too far down to read?— Malachy
- Murph...You sounded good on Baseball Tonight! Keep up the good work because your writing is getting me pumped for the season to begin!!— BammBamm
- Hard-throwing relief pitchers are a dime-a-dozen. Teach the kid to throw 2 or 3 pitches and let him start!!! Who would you rather have? Eric Gagne or Randy Johnson? It took the Phils 40 plus years between Chris Short and Cole Hamels to develop a legitimate minor league, home-grown prospect who can be a number 1 or number 2 starter. Let Aumont become a starter. If he fails, you can always turn him into a short-reliever. Ask the Yankees why they turned Joba Chamberlain into a starter and not a reliever.— johnnyF
- The intimidation factor of a kid that big I think gets kinda lost in the shuffle which I'm glad Murph touched on. Pitchers at his developmental stage with his physical tools don't grow on trees. Knapp was in the same mold, not as big or as far along, but more highly regarded. The front office really hated parting with Knapp, I imagine they look at Aumonte as sort of fitting that bill
- People still get hung up over a Cliff Lee-less pitching rotation. Some fans seem to be actually disturbed that he is not here. Look at the rotation in a different way. Compare this year's rotation with what you had at the beginning of last year. #1 Hamels(2010: Roy Halladay), #2 Myers(2010: Cole Hamels), #3 Blanton (2010: Joe Blanton), #4 Jamie Moyer(2010: JA Happ), # 5 Chan Ho Park(2010: Jamie Moyer Kyle Kendrick Jose Contreras Drew Carpenter, or OTHER!) Hmmm! There seems to be an improvement. Remember the Phillies can still pick up someone in the future to help them get over the hump!
- I just loved the Jamie Moyer comment...."Why...?" That was great! I'm thinking of another 6'7" pitcher...lefthanded guy with a penchant for glaring at batters...just retired hmmm can't seem to recall his name. (wink) But wondering why not develop a 6'7" righty in the same basic mold? While I'm obviously disoriented..why cant Silent Steve take Cole into the woodshed and learn him the facts of lefthanded pitching? Cole also needs to develop himself into a bit of a workout warrior...just too damn slim.— Prausch
We all need to get over trading Cliff Lee. Amaro is right, we are NOT the Yankees (and I like that), we don't gut our minor league prospect base. It makes it much easier if you compare Lee (1 year) to Halladay (3+ years at less $$$ than Lee would command) and compare the prospects to the prospects. It's much more rational and acceptable. We still have players for the future instead of Lee going elsewhere in 2011 with nothing to fall back on. Cole will have an awesome 2010, the pitches he's developing will make him a stud again. Will Cole replace Lee? Nope, Halladay replaces Lee....and at 3 guaranteed years. Forget about Lee. Enjoy the fact that Amaro and the Phillies will NOT choose to be the spend-crazy Yankees, enjoy the fact that we still have players for the future. Enjoy. This. Team.- I couldn't agree more Moose. Wow, I sound it like Tony Siragusa from Fox NFL Sunday, but I agree with you 100% and with chrisc also.— EL Zorro
- I couldn't agree more Moose. Wow, I sound it like Tony Siragusa from Fox NFL Sunday, but I agree with you 100% and with chrisc also.— EL Zorro
- It's scary how jaded some of you on this board have become. The Phils are, BY FAR, the class of the National League. We traded for the best starting pitcher in baseball. We improved our lineup by acquiring a terrific #2 hitter. We improved our bench. We stocked the bullpen with a couple of reliable, rubber-armed horses. What's the problem?! Life has never been better as a Phils fan. Get over your loathing...— The Pack Leader
